This is the starting point for every Sales Lead.  A prospect has called the office, sent an email or an inquiry from the website.  Non-selling personnel in the business should be trained to either go directly to the Sale Lead entry form or to press the F3 button on the keyboard to immediatly add a new lead. Account Managers will know to collect essential information when someone walks in, or to look for newly assigned Sales Leads during periods that they are not engaged with prospects or existing customers.  Once the opportunity is logged, it needs to be assigned an Account Manager by an individual who has the Sales Manager Role.  If the individual making this entry has Sales Manager permissions, then the Account Manager assignment can be assigned at this time.

Every business should be asking their prospects strategic questions during the qualification process to understand better what the customer is seeking and how they plan to achieve their goal.  Due to significant differences in Order Type, the questions may be very different between sales channels.  The Account Manager should be asking questions about the Product or Service being sought, what the customer's expectations are, and what their decision-making process and budget look like.  It's also essential to capture Market Information to understand better if the prospect is shopping on price, features, timeline, or with other criteria.

Prospects may present a "Decision Date" for two reasons.  First, the prospect may want to internally discuss the deal before committing to purchase your goods and services.  Second, the date itself is presented as a buying obstacle that needs to be managed by the Account Manager.  The Account Manager should document the decision date as soon as it is known and follow up with the prospect on that date to continue the conversation.

This is an important milestone for the company.  Full payment has been received and revenue has been reconginized.  The Account Manager should follow-up with the customer to make sure that they are satisfied and discuss any other benefits that come with being a customer.

When a prospect declines an opportunity, it is a great time to document the reason.  Over time the decline criteria can give the company a strategic view into why they are not securing additional sales.  This feedback offers the business the opportunity to re-evaluate their methods to obtain more revenue, even if they don't change their marketing.  

There are many reasons for losing a sales opportunity that are not within the influence of the Account Manager:

• Customer Responsiveness: The lead may go dark and not respond despite multiple attempts to engage. 
• Price: Leads can be lost on Price; perhaps the products you are selling are too expensive or don't meet their budget. 
• Product Offering: The products may not meet the customer's criteria.
• Schedule: The goods or services cannot be delivered when the customer's requires them.
• Responsiveness: The prospect wasn't contacted quickly enough, and they took their business elsewhere.